Projects

I love working on projects – I usually have 10 or so in process at any given time both on the boat, and at home. Many of these projects turn into reviews of various products or technology, which I also enjoy. Almost all of the projects are driven to make our lives on the boat and elsewhere more comfortable or safe, and are cataloged here.

83 posts

Projects

Charging away from the dock

Charging while away from the dock on the sailboat is a critical piece to enjoying your time on the water. In part 3 of my power upgrade project, I replace the alternator and regulator to ensure my new Firefly batteries are topped up.

Steve Mitchell Oct 20, 2016 5 min read

Projects

The arteries and veins of your electrical system

The arteries and veins of your electrical system are the wires, and you need to ensure they are taken care of just as much as the batteries and other parts. In part 2 of my power system upgrade, I replace the majority of my main system wiring to ensure a healthy system.

Steve Mitchell Sep 29, 2016 5 min read

Projects

Power System Design

Grace came with a very basic power system which had some major problems. I chose to update it using MasterVolt as the primary charging, distribution and control system, Balmar for engine power management, and Firefly carbon foam batteries as the heart.

Steve Mitchell Sep 20, 2016 9 min read

Projects

Solar simplification

My ongoing solar project at our family cabin in Eastern Washington took a simplification turn this last weekend. Much of what I’ve learned rewiring boats and working on DC systems has helped me fine-tune this installation.

Steve Mitchell Sep 12, 2016 7 min read

Projects

Terminal fuse blocks saved my batteries

BlueSea terminal fuse blocks saved my Firefly batteries from damage after a short circuit.

Steve Mitchell Aug 21, 2016 2 min read

Projects

Ambient LED cabin lights

Quality ambient light throughout the sailboat is a must. Getting this without high power use bulbs is easy with LEDs if you know where to start. Many manufacturers "white" LEDs look terrible, so choose carefully.

Steve Mitchell Jul 13, 2016 6 min read

Projects

Installing a Wallas heater

My sailboat did not come with a heater, and Wallas has one of the best you could install. You can do it yourself as well.

Steve Mitchell Jun 15, 2016 7 min read

Projects

Grace's integrated 5 part network

Large sailboat network including NMEA 2000, SeaTalk, MasterBus, WiFi and ethernet. I believe in deeply integrated and instrumented systems, and want to know everything about anything, anywhere.

Steve Mitchell Jun 1, 2016 11 min read

Projects

Halogen light replacement with CREE LEDs

Good quality lighting is not something you have to sacrifice on a sailboat. It can also be economical now with the advent of LEDs. CREE LEDs are my favorite because of their color and quality, and I replaced almost everything on Grace with them.

Steve Mitchell Apr 15, 2016 4 min read

Internet

Sending AIS data to multiple servers over a limited cellular link

Having an AIS receiver on the sailboat means I can take that data and share it with AIS websites, as a base station. Doing that from a bandwidth-limited cellular connection creates some challenges which can be overcome with some scripting.

Steve Mitchell Mar 24, 2016 6 min read

Projects

Replacing cockpit hatch boards with Zarcor doors

Standard hatch boards on a Beneteau 311 are heavy and hard to use. I wanted something easier to open and close, and more useful when closed. Zarcor has a history of making doors for all makes of boats, and they worked for me too.

Steve Mitchell Mar 18, 2016 5 min read

Projects

New pedestal guard and NavPod

Grace had very minimal instruments when I bought her, and I wanted to add some additional space at the helm for updated electronics. This required updating the mounting location and adding a NavPod.

Steve Mitchell Mar 9, 2016 3 min read

Projects

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